Product Description
More populous than any other country on earth, China also occupies a unique place in our modern world for the continuity of its history and culture. In this sumptuously illustrated single-volume history, noted historian Patricia Ebrey traces the origins of Chinese culture from prehistoric times to the present. She follows its development from the rise of Confucianism, Buddhism, and the great imperial dynasties to the Mongol, Manchu, and Western intrusions and the modern communist state. Her scope is phenomenal--embracing Chinese arts, culture, economics, society and its treatment of women, foreign policy, emigration, and politics, including the key uprisings of 1919 and 1989 in Tiananmen Square. Both a comprehensive introduction to an extraordinary civilization, and an expert exploration of the continuities and disjunctures of Chinese history, Professor Ebrey's book has become an indispensable guide to China past and present. Patricia Ebrey is Professor of East Asian Studies and History and the author of Chinese Civilization: A Sourcebook (1993).

Amazon.com Review
To compress 8,000 years of a civilization's life into a single volume is a daunting task, but University of Illinois historian Patricia Ebrey does the job with authority and considerable flair. Writing with an eye to explaining recurring themes in Chinese history, she discusses ideas of order and statecraft, resource allocation and use, imperialism and population growth. Along the way she makes interesting asides, noting, among other things, that the Mongol conquerors of China monopolized the bamboo trade because they did not want the ethnic Chinese to make weapons, and she gives stimulating overviews of such matters as the manufacture of silk, hardwood furniture, and ceramics.

CUSTOMER REVIEWS (Average Customer Rating: 4.5 based on 16 reviews)

Great 101 helicoptere view of Chinese History

Easy to read, this book accomplished what I was looking for: a complete high-level view of chinese history.

The few things I would have like to be a bit different:
- More maps, there are quite a few of them, but more would have helped
- Less on art, I did not care about history of Chinese art, but about China and Chinese people
- I was surprised that events like the building or the great wall or the decision to cut itself from the rest of the world by burning its navy was treated so quickly. I think some key events like these should have had a bit more time dedicated to them.

However, all-in-all, I'm glad I read this book. It reads like a novel, not a class textbook, and for the first time allowed me to have a better understanding of the Chinese history, beyong the last few decades I had learned in High-school.

I now need to find an equivalent book on India...
May 17, 2008

An interesting perspective on Chinese history

I'm a Chinese living in China. Because of politicized history accounts in China after 1949 I have little interest in official history books in Chinese. But I like this book very much; for me it provides a totally new perspective on the evolution of our culture, peoples and economy etc. The rich pictures in the book make reading easier and more interesting.
May 27, 2007

Cambridge Illustrated History of China

Highly informative and readable; wonderfully illustrated both with photographs and maps. This was exactly what I had hoped for.
March 21, 2007

Good Reference; Not Detailed

I used this book as a reference text for a course in Ancient Chinese History. The labeled illustrations are a pretty good reference for the components of the class that require us to identify and date archaeological pieces. Ebrey does a good job giving an overview of all the various things happening in China, however, it truly only skims the surface. In addition, points of controversy are not really discussed. Among the academia, there is debate of one of the groups of Chinese people- the Xia. In this book, Ebrey identifies the Xia as a group that does exist. Depending on who your professor is, you might get a different spin on the situation and the Xia might be considered mythical. While this isn't a serious point of contention, there might be other discrepanicies like this between what Ebrey writes and what others think.

Now this may be nitpicky, but the book doesn't do very well with sitting in a backpack. If you intend to take take it around with you, you'd be better of buying a hardcover version. The binding comes loose relatively easily and it's printed on this beautiful, heavy, glossy paper.

Buy this book only if you're looking for a quick read and a good reference.
November 11, 2006

An excellent overview of Chinese history

As a single volume overview of Chinese history, you couldn't ask for much more than this book. It is clearly written, objective and very readable. The most significant events in Chinese history are all covered (albeit in only superficial depth, necessarily.) The book also tries to describe developments from the perspective of ordinary people, not just the emporers. Cultural and technological advances are covered as well as the major military conquests. Finally, each chapter is concluded with the author's analysis of the period and comparisons to other contemporaneous civilisations.

My only criticism is that the Japanese atrocities during World War II are glossed over, only the Rape of Nanjing is mentioned, and even then, only the lowest bound of the estimated death toll is given. If you read only this book, you might get the impression that the Japanese occupation was a relatively benign experience.

Overall, I highly recommend this book to anyone seeking an introduction to Chinese history.
August 21, 2006

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